Patrol urging drivers to inspect their vehicles for potential hazards
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (March 7, 2022) – The Ohio Highway Patrol is reminding drivers of the importance of proper vehicle maintenance.
The patrol logged 6,308 crashes where vehicle defects were a contributing circumstance between 2018 and 2020, of which 30 were fatal. New Philadelphia Post Trooper Shawn Walters says it happens more often than people may realize.
“I would say the most common one is probably people losing tires. So a lot of times, a vehicle will be driving down the road, and all of the sudden their tire will fly off. A lot of times, it’s the lug nuts weren’t tightened down appropriately or properly, so we try to remind people to constantly make sure that they’re tightened up.”
He says low tire tread is another potential hazard as are faulty brakes, although one is easier to spot than the other.
“Because you can tell when a tire is maybe not doing so well. You can physically look at it without even tearing anything apart. You can see the tread is worn or it’s pretty low on one side or even that the core to the tire is showing, versus with brakes [where] it takes a little bit more digging into to kind of understand the condition of your brake.”
Walters says if you hear any squealing or grinding when you hit the brakes, it’s probably time to have them replaced. Of the defect-related crashes in Ohio between 2018 and 2020, 20-percent were due to faulty brakes and tire blowouts accounted for 18 percent.